Jonathan Pollard Calls for Public Support for Kidnapped Teens

Esther Pollard, the wife of Israeli spy and longtime US prisoner Jonathan Pollard, visited the family of kidnapped 16-year-old Naftali Frenkel in Nof Ayalon on Monday, and brought words of hope.

"I came here in order to support and identify with them, pray with them and hope that this nightmare ends soon," Esther Pollard stated to Walla! News Monday. "Jonathan was very upset to hear about the unfortunate abduction and is praying, from the depths of hell, for the boys' safety."

Pollard also relayed a message through intermediaries on Saturday night, calling on the public to pray for the three boys.

"Jonathan called on the public to come together and do whatever we can," she said. "We are not exceptions to the rule here - all of Israel, and anyone who can help, will do so, I am sure of it."

Jonathan Pollard has recently been the subject of a high-profile campaign for his release. He is now in his 29th year of incarceration in a US jail for passing classified security-related information from America to Israel. He was arrested by FBI agents in 1985 and has been held ever since, including eight years in solitary confinement.

Pollard has been described multiple times as a "hostage" of the US, a notion which has ramped up criticism against the White House over recent weeks.

Outrage has simmered further over a reported deal to release Pollard before the Passover holiday in April in exchange for hundreds of Israeli-held jailed Arab terrorists; the deal never materialized. His prison conditions have been described as "horrific" and he is suffering from ailing health.